Home

Hello all-

Well, I am writing from the other side of the pond as they say. I got safely home on Saturday night. I have been enjoying seeing all of my friends and family since I got home. 

Upon getting home some have been asking if I am going to keep up my blog. I think that I will just do that. I have many things coming up that I may wish to blog about. So, if you are interested in my post-N. Ireland story keep reading on and I will try to write about the process of becoming re-cultured into American life and then I will blog about my move to St. Louis in December. 

Things that I have found really funny coming home so far:

1. The Texas accent. 

2. Just how unbelievably flat it is here.

3. Just how much I have missed my family. 

4. Rosas tastes better than I could have ever hoped =)

5. All of the American Flags out.

6. It is SO HOT, oh my goodness is it hot!

7. Air conditioning. 

8. Cherry Vanilla Dr. Peppers are a wonderful thing I missed from Sonic. 

9. The sun comes out every day here. 

10. People wearing cowboy hats and all of the million pick up trucks. 

11. Country music on every station.

12.  Everyone says Y'all, I am not alone anymore. 

I look forward to catching up with all of y'all soon. 

Love,

Melissa 

"We shall find peace. We shall hear the angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds."

Hello!

I suppose this will be the last reflection and blog that I post while still living in Belfast. First I must say my thank you's. To all of you that have supported me through this year, for all of the letters, prayers, thoughts and comments, thank you. I am blessed and grateful for your involvement in this truly life changing year. I look forward to seeing many of you upon my return and hearing more about your lives and how the journey of a year has changed you. 

I know that I have written about mixed feelings. Mixed feelings about leaving, mixed feelings about staying, mixed feelings in general. Leaving is part of this year. It is, was, and will be what happens in a little over 2 weeks from now to me, mixed feelings about it or not. I realize more strongly than ever now that leaving is one of the most important things that I have to do in this year. Leaving means a lot of things. It means that I have finished my work here. Leaving is hoping that I have made a difference. Leaving is taking the knowledge and the experience back with me to the States and helping others see what it is really like in Belfast. Leaving is saying goodbye to those that I have grown to love. Leaving is looking back and being satisfied. Leaving is the beginning of a new journey, maybe even better than the last. Leaving is, if we are lucky never the end. Never the end of something good, but the beginning of something new, different and equally important. Leaving means that I, a good old west texas girl, made it through one of the most challenging and unbelievably transforming year of my life. 

This week is the first week of the long goodbye. One of my roommates heads off this week and after she leaves, one of us packs our bags and returns to the States every week past that. As I start the long goodbye as well, I am packing things up. The only thing is that I am not packing the usual...socks, toothbrush, and underwear...I am packing love, laughter, memories, knowledge, tools for change, fuel for my life's passion, and most of all I am packing peace. 

Hope to see you all very soon. 

All my love-

Melissa 

As I go...

Hello everyone-

Just wanted to let you know that I have written my final letter to PC(USA). If you would like to read it just go to: 

http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/yav.htm

Love and peace to you all. 

Melissa 

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Hello all-

I have had several people ask why I have not posted a blog in a while. Well, there is no easy answer to that I am afraid. Mostly it has to do that my departure date from Belfast is getting closer and closer and I am not quite sure how I feel about it. 

Belfast very quickly felt like home. I have learned that home is a relative term in life. Home is where the heart is some may say and my heart, it's been in Belfast for a long time. 

While Texas will always be my real home, people and places will always make that home to me, Belfast, Canyon, soon to be St. Louis are all homes to me as well. These places are places where you grow, and even better, if you are lucky flourish. 

Though the stresses of living here are sometimes challenging, while some things about living her have never felt easy to me, it has grown on me. I have grown. To come and have an experience like this one and not be affected by it would prove that something was vastly wrong with me. I will miss so much. I will miss the unmistakable beauty of this place. I will miss the friends that I have grown to love. I will miss this time of my life, a time to grow, to flourish. 

So, as complicated as that is, as confusing as this mixed message may sound...that is where I am right now. I walk the line between being happy and sad for both leaving, and coming home. 

Maya Angelou sums it up as she always does with her graceful words: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." 

Peace to all-

Melissa 

Signs of Peace...

Hello to everyone-

I walk to work every morning. On this walk I round the corner of our street and span the length of a massive peace wall. Green metal, 15 feet in the air. Keeping people out? Keeping people in? That is the question. Broken glass litters the streets, words like "Paddy" line the wall. Huge burnt holes creep up on you every once in a while in the sheets of metal where petrol bombs have tried to break the wall, damage the wall, or scare the community living on one, or both sides. I walk the length of that one wall and then turn a corner. This street I am on now is between two peace walls. A flashpoint they might call it here. A place with no one. No owner. Neither Catholic nor Protestant wants this street. It is in the middle of this fight, excluded from one community, while also being excluded from the other. A no man's land of sorts. In between ground? Or just a street that was left out of the cut, thrown to the wolves. 

Some of my co-workers (mainly the ones that have adopted the father role to me whilst being here) don't like for me to walk this way at all. Some just warn to only walk it in the light of day. I feel as safe on that street as I do in any of the other streets in Belfast and so, with a new look on life I set off most mornings, in the light of day, to work. 

This week I noticed one day on my way to work that a field, covered in wild flowers, green rolling hills as far as the eye can see was littered with the trappings of last nights festivities. It was the usual, broken glass, beer cans, stones, bricks, and large 4X4's that had nails on the ends of them. Now, I cannot speculate what really went on there the night before in the cover of darkness, but lets just say that riots are not something that are new to these kids on this block. I walked by and suddenly felt very alone. I felt very sad. Cheated almost. I felt like all of this, this whole experience was a fraud. I felt isolated. I stood between peace walls and thought, why am I here? At work I had a hard time the whole day keeping my head up. I felt like everything that I did was not good enough. I kept seeing those stones, that broken glass in my head. I could not shake that image. The day ended and it was yet again time for me to walk back home for the day. I thought twice about which way to go. Did I want to see that again? Did I want to feel worse? Was that possible? I decided to face my fears and to go home the same way I had gone to work. 

As I got closer to the no man's land I noticed that there was not as much trash on the streets. I noticed the flowers more. The yellow, blue and white buds in the ground. I came to the gates of the park trashed only hours before to find a group of teenagers hard at work. The trash was gone, the beer cans were cleared. The stones, no longer blocking my feet on the path. All of the teenagers were working hard and as I got closer I saw, those pieces of wood that once had been scattered about, used as weapons maybe, were being used in another way. This time the old nails had been stripped and new ones were being used. Together they worked, they were building something. 

The next morning as I started a new day I came by the same spot to find a newly constructed football goal (soccer) and two little girls playing on it. 

I smiled a smile that I will never forget. Closed my eyes and said out loud "Peace". 

I don't know if these kids stumbled upon these pieces of wood and decided to use them for good. I don't know if these kids were the same ones who used them for bad the night and days before. All I know that peace, peace is in everything. It is in the broken glass that has been cleared away. It is in the 4X4's that have been used to build a football goal. Peace. Peace is what I see. 

Peace to you all-

Melissa 

There is nothing like the present moment...

Hello everyone!

I hope that this post finds you all doing well and enjoying this spring time of year. I have enjoyed spring in Scotland and N. Ireland. My fellow YAV's and I just got home from our (sadly) last retreat together in Iona Scotland. It was truly a magical place. The natural beauty of this place was just stunning and the history that seemed to be in every step you would take on the Island was just fascinating. We got to hike and enjoy the beauty of the Island and we got to worship in an Abbey built by St. Columba thousands and thousands of years ago.

Below I have updated my slideshow to include some of the best pictures of the week in Scotland.

Since I last blogged I found out that I was accepted into one of the nations leading schools for social work. Washington University in St. Louis has a wonderful reputation for their Masters program in social work and I was honored to accept their offer and a scholarship they were kind enough to give me. I feel as though God is calling me to go and hone my skills as a social worker so that I can better serve.

As I started this decision process as to what to do after my year overseas I found that God was truly in this continuation of ministry. As I get closer to coming home, I find that I am trying to figure out what is next for me. I have and will continue to struggle every day of my life (and I know I am not alone) with the concept of when to act and when to remain still and wait. This decision to come to N. Ireland was one of the easiest ones of my life it seems. Likewise, this decision to move to St. Louis has been as equally easy. I feel a strong sense of call to social work and in particular finding a way to use the skills I have learned here in N. Ireland and apply them to life in the U.S.

Like the title of my blog says, there is truly nothing like the present moment. While I was in Iona Scotland I found much time to be by myself and I found that time, at the top of hills overlooking the sea, watching sun sets over the ocean, and below a cross that has been there since 600 A.D. to be so spiritually fulfilling. One day I was walking with my friends back to the place we stayed on the Island and we walked by a bench that simply read "Be Still". After finding my favorite places to reflect, read, or just look out at the beauty of the Island, I spent the next day on that bench. I enjoyed the coolness of the breeze that went through the Abbey walls, I enjoyed the birds building their nests upon the walls, I enjoyed the smiles and "hello's" I got from all who passed by. I was truly still. Still in mind, in body and in soul.

As I continue to struggle with this ingrained need to always be doing something, always be busy, achieving, doing...I am reminded that just being still, even if only for a time, is essential. I may always be a planner, I may always need to know what is next on my plate. But, I do see the good in being still, in finding the peace that lies in every moment of the day. To take time, be still, and wait, wait for God to call you. To listen, to act, and to serve.

Peace and love be with you all-

Melissa

Pages 7- 10 are of my Iona trip!

Time flies when you're doing what you love...

Hello to everyone!

Well, I just got home from a fantastic trip to Italy for my birthday! What a beautiful place Italy is. More wonderful than Italy was seeing my parents for the first time in 7 1/2 months. Wow, can't believe that it has been that long. It was a emotional and wonderful reunion between us all and we had a great time both in N. Ireland and in Italy together. Now, I get to look forward to seeing my sister, brother in-law, and my niece Anna. Plus baby Wright #2! I cannot wait for that reunion as well. 

Like the title of my blog says, time flies when you are doing what you love. That is in fact exactly how I feel at this moment. I cannot believe how much I have grown since last August. It sometimes feels as though I have become a new person. This experience, this chance of a lifetime has shaped me and changed me in ways that are only known by God. My Mom and Dad said it best, they said, we have missed you so much, but to see you and that assures us that you are as happy as you seem on the phone and internet. Indeed I am very happy. 

Life is a funny thing. I have come to Belfast seeking to give my life to God and serve for the hope of Peace in this beautiful country, yet I have been given such a gift in return. Peace within myself. Now that people in my family are starting to come visit they see that, peace is running deep within me and friends let me tell you how good that feels. It does not mean that there are not still bad days, hard days, challenging days, but it means that within all of us there lies the ability to find peace. It is truly as different as we all are from one another and no one can show you how to find it but God and yourself. But seeking it, actively seeking it everyday is a life choice that is well worth the hardships. 

These last few months will be bitter sweet, filled with laughing crying, finding and loosing part of myself that is sure to stay here, my home for just a time. 

My love,

Melissa 

Some of my favorite things...

Hello everyone-

I hope that this find you all doing well and enjoying Easter and Spring. I thought I would share with you some of the things that I find really either 1. funny or 2. incredible about the culture here. People in Belfast have a real language of their own. Some of it is British, some Irish and some of it is just uniquely Belfast. 

Phrases I love:

1. A wee bit

2. "Auch no"

3. Knackered (really tired)

4. Scundered (fed up with things)

5. "This is mingin' " (meaning it tastes bad)

6. You kids are just wee mustard's (bad behavior)

7. Wee chancer. (someone who takes risks) 

8. "Keep er' lit" (David's favorite saying he wants me to adopt)

9. "Alright?" (a common question asked when you first see someone, asking how you are?)

10. "Keeping well" (another way of saying I am feeling good today)

11. "You are very welcome" (not used in response as much as telling you that you are wanted or needed in a place). 

12. Aye (used instead of "yes") 

13. " You're alright love" (just the word "love" is so wonderful)

14. "Cheers" 

15. "Thankin' you" (meaning thank you) 

16. My mates (your friends)

17. Cheerio (goodbye)

18. "All the best" (used as a send off when leaving a place)

19. "So it is" (used at the ends of sentences...."I went to work today, so I did")

20. "Hiya" (same as saying hi to someone) 

21. "Skiven" (slacking off)

Hope that this give you a little insight into the cultural differences. Everyone said, you are lucky you get to go to an english speaking country but sometimes as you can see it sounds like a different language they are speaking. Belfastian I would call it!

Love and peace to all-

Melissa 

PCUSA Update

Hello everyone! 

I have written my second update to the PCUSA website if you would like to read it. Here is the link:

http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/yav.htm

Hope this finds you all doing well and enjoying the Spring. Your continued support and love is the grace that keeps me going here in Belfast. 

My love-

Melissa 

Life is like an onion, and sometimes you cry...

Cockles and Muscles. You know...Molly Malone style.

My pensive ocean look. Ha. 

Our view from our picnic. 

The northern most point of Ireland. County Donegal. 

Hello everyone-

Wow. Time is flying by here for me. I am 6 months into my year of service and I cannot believe it. It has taken me so long to understand just daily life here, I can't believe that it is half over. 

We as a team went to Donegal this week and it was wonderful. Enjoy the pictures above. It was so nice to just have some time outside, we got to see all kinds of beaches and even got to see the sun (a rare thing here). 

The trip however was a bit bitter sweet. While we were away we found that a new local friend of ours had passed away suddenly and without any warning. He was just 25 years old. Only a couple weeks before he died we had been in the same room drinking beer and laughing at the strangeness that is American football for the super bowl. This has affected all of us in different ways. Even though we had just met Chris, he was such a lovely person and so much fun to be around. I hate I did not get to know him better. 

Something like this makes you think. It makes you feel so very blessed to get another day to live. Sometimes I wonder why these things have to happen, but like my roommate said, we don't know why he died, but we know why he lived. 

Even though it was a hard week, it was one of realizations. We always say that we are living each day like it is our last. This week has reminded me that I am so very lucky to be able to live. That is just what I am going to do...live. 

Blessings and love to you all-

Melissa 

None is freer than the one who needs little to be happy. - Nathan Stone

Hello to all of you-

The title of my blog says it all really. I really need not expound on that thought, but since all of you are so good to keep up with me, I will try to do my best to summarize my thoughts and feelings these days.

The more I learn about this society that I am living in, the deeper I get into the issues at hand. It is only natural that it takes a while to start to put the puzzle pieces together to make them fit. The same thing here, it has taken me these almost 5 and a half months to gather enough information to make sense out of this complicated battle. Some people here seem to not be in the least affected, others still are dealing with not going out of their house in fear of being blown up or shot. Others have had the worst of the worst happen to them and still seem to get by, doing what they can, with quite strength and grace.

I had to write an essay for a masters program that I am applying for recently and one of the questions was what social issue would you change if you could, and how would you go about doing that? With such a vast question I found myself sitting in front of my computer completely blank at times thinking...what can we do? Then something hit me the other day as I was walking to work. You just do. Simply that, do what you can. The world is not going to change overnight. N. Ireland is not going to wake up tomorrow and decide that there are not hurt feelings anymore, that there is no difference anymore. It is so hard to think about what a happy medium between respecting difference and also wanting there to be no division in this world. We live in a world of difference, labels, Black, White, Gay, straight, right, and wrong. The fact is that it is OK to accept that we can be both right and be wrong in our lives. No one is perfect. No one way will work for everyone. We have got to find a way to live in peace with ourselves and then, maybe then, we can live in peace with one another.

I see division in the most stunning and real ways here in Belfast. They may be in the form of peace walls and flags flying high, but that division is everywhere in this world. It may not be so visual, but it is there. I personally am learning to love myself, hopefully I then can love the people on this earth as much as I should, no division needed.

None is freer than the one who needs little to be happy.

Peace and blessings friends-

Melissa

Dreams and thoughts...

I love this picture. It sums up everything. The smile, the guitar, the pints of beer (one full, one empty =)) and the paper that just perfectly says "Ireland" on it. Anyways, this was me with the band that night. 

Whites Tavern and me with the guys. 

The band.

Hello all-

Well, the holidays are over and not completely without hard times, but I got through them just fine. I find myself now at the end of January, the time flying by and mid-term right around the corner. Our 5 month anniversary is just two days away. It has been longer than that since I left Texas. Sometimes it feel like only yesterday that I arrived here in Belfast, sometimes it feels like years that I have been here. Like with everyone, I still have good and not so good days. I have to say though that overall thinking back to the day we all stepped off the plane, I cannot even describe the girl that I was then, I feel so transformed by my time here. Like I have said before, I truly believe that I have learned more than I have taught. Isn't that a blessing!?!

Above you see some pictures of me playing guitar with a traditional Irish band. One thing that I have learned in N. Ireland is that sometimes you just have to put fears aside and go for it. That is just what I did when I played with this talented group of musicians. I just brought my guitar to a pub one night hoping that the band I had heard there the week before would be there again and this time I could join in. I went over, introduced myself and they said "sure love, have a wee seat and get your guitar out, we'll teach you how to play our music." For the next couple of hours I played and laughed, drank pints of beer on the house and made some good friends. Traditional Irish music is no easy thing to learn, let me tell you. I spent half the time just staring in amazement at the guys. I however got to learn many songs. I tried and tried to upload a video of us playing but the blogger would not take it. I will continue to try. If you imagine the music that was in the scene of Titanic when Kate and Leo go and dance in the bows of the ship, that was just about spot on to what I played with them. Haha. I can see all of you going and fishing out your old copy of Titanic and fast-forwarding it to that part. Do it, you will see just what I mean! In the end I found that it is true what they say about the Irish, they are some of the friendliest people in the world. This chance to get to sit and play music that sums up the root of this culture was a gift that I will never forget. I intend on going back and playing with the guys again. It was such a great memory that I will never ever forget. 

As I continue on with this journey all of you are in my thoughts and prayers. I hope that all of you have had a wonderful start to your 2008 year. Blessings and much love to you all. 

Melissa 

I love Paris...

                                                        I will, triumph...                      

                                                               Me and the Eiffel Tower

                                            

So, this is the video that I took at midnight at the Eiffel Tower. The only problem is that I took it with my camera and held it long ways not knowing that I cannot turn the picture around. If anyone knows how to fix this, help would be welcome. For now you can see the most important parts by tilting your head. It is rubbish recording but some people will never see the Eiffel and I thought it would be cool to put it up! (Bonne Annee) means Happy New Years in French. You will hear it many times! 

Hello everyone and Happy New Years from Belfast! I celebrated New Years with my good friends Sarah and Jessica in Paris France (along with a crowd of people we made friends with in France). It was wonderful! I have posted some of the many, many hundreds of pictures I took over the week long trip. We saw everything, the Mona Lisa, the Eiffel Tower, the architecture from a river boat up the Seine River. It was so very nice to get a change of scenery from Belfast. Although it was colder than Belfast...I know, hard to believe. It is so wonderful to be able to change your view for a while, what a blessing to get to spend a week in France. All I knew how to say was please, thank you, yes, no and I am sorry. Somehow we got by with flying colors. There were times where we were at a loss because of the language barrier, but hey...that is half the fun right? 

The best part of the trip was when we came back to Belfast and all three of us girls, all just having rung in our fourth month in this place calling it "home". Something so very important that I have learned this year is that the concept of home can be so many things. Although my real home in Texas is what my heart is missing and yearning for sometimes...Belfast somehow feels like home for now. What a gift to be glad to come home...come back to our friends and "family" that we have built in N. Ireland. How incredible it is that after a mere four months we feel comfortable in the unfamiliar. 

I hope that all of you in this 2008 year we have just begun all find a home. A place where you heart is, if only for a time. Also I hope that all of you can find community and strength within your most unexpected places. May God bless all of you in this new year! 

Bonne Annee friends!

Melissa 

Happy Christmas from Belfast...

Hello everyone! I hope that this finds you all having a joyous and bright holiday season. Things are great here in Belfast. Although I have found that the homesickness has reached a new level since it is almost Christmas and I am constantly reminded that I am not at home, surrounded by loved ones, my life here has it share of joys as well. These last couple of weeks have been absolutely jam packed with parties. I know, I know...poor me right? Who could ever complain about a schedule of parties. But, all of you teachers and educators and fellow volunteers will sympathize that parties with groups of screaming kids is enough to do your head in. While some of them have been sheer madness, others have given me some of my favorite memories of this place and time of my life thus far.

First of all I "graduated" from WT this last Saturday. While I was excited to be done and ready as always to move on to other things, I found myself quite sad that I was missing my ceremony back in good old Canyon. The whole week last week I yearned to be back at home getting ready for finals and the rush of the end of the semester. On Thursday I had a party where we were serving lunch to 60 some odd senior citizens for their Christmas dinner. I did not know the details, but knew that something was going to happen that day as my coworkers asked me to bring my laptop in and set it up to use skype. I was curious, but did not know what was going to happen really. That day after the lunch was over I was to lead carols with the pensioners, then the director came in and said that my Mom and Dad were going to be there via live video chat and that this week was a special week in my life and we were going to have a "wee graduation ceremony for our American volunteer". I was shocked and very very touched. They did the whole nine yards, they got the cap and made a mock certificate, announced my name and with 60 pensioners and all of my beloved coworkers in Belfast I graduated. It was the most memorable graduation I could think of. What an honor to have people care enough about me to have this all set up so that I could feel special in my achievement on graduating from University.

One of my other favorite glimpses of grace and peace this Advent season came with sitting and watching the kids from all of the groups I work with laugh and scream as a magician that we hired entertained them for an hour. All of the little ones fought over who got to sit by me on the floor as we watched the show, so we took shifts on who got to sit with me. There is nothing in this world as good as watching children laugh and smile. Their innocence and their unabashed sense of joy and happiness is nothing short of incredible to me and so very contagious. I find myself rejuvenated at the end of this week.

This concept of finding grace and peace has shaped my life this year. The idea that it is possible to seek out the pleasure in the moment is life changing. You have to actively seek out grace, love, happiness, peace, and joy out of the craziness that we call life. This Advent season as all of you gather with family and friends, look around, see the joy in your loved ones faces. Take each moment and live it to the fullest. As Christmas time comes nearer I continue to see love and joy, peace and grace in everything here. It's in my coworkers, it's in my friends, it's in the sadness I feel to be so far from home. How lucky I am that I have so much to miss and be sad about. Love is such a huge concept. I send love and peace, grace and unabashed childlike joy to each one of you. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Years to all of you.

All my love and then some-

Melissa

Graduation

Hello all! Above is my "senior picture" as my roommates call it. They said that I needed a senior picture since I was not going to be at home for my walk across the stage. I thought it was nice with my WTAMU sweatshirt and the lovely rose in the background. Well, I have done it. Except for a few final bits of paperwork I have graduated from West Texas A&M University. It is a bitter sweet thing really. I am thrilled to be done and to have a degree from what I think to be a fine University, however part of me is sad to see this time of my life come to an end.

This might be a little mushy but bare with me. To all of my professors and friends and family that have guided me and helped me through this time of my life I cannot thank you enough. Thank you to my parents who gave me the opportunity to continue my education, thank you to my friends for journeying with me through these past years, thank you to my mentors that have guided and shaped my heart during this time, thank you to my professors who have molded my mind in incredible ways, thank you, thank you, thank you.

The girls that I have been privileged to go through my internship with at WT have touched me beyond words. This group of girls are going to change the world. I am lucky to have been able to study with them and call them friends. God bless and God speed to all of you in your future as social workers.

As for me. I feel like I am where I have always been meant to be. I feel like a succession of miracles and blessings has lead me to N. Ireland to be a YAV. I am sad to see my college years go, but so very excited to start my future. I hope to make everyone proud!

God's blessings to all-

Melissa

YAV Newsletters

Hello everyone!

I hope this finds you all enjoying the coming of the Advent season. Later today if not tomorrow I will have another form of reflection and writing posted with the PCUSA website. If you are interested please go to:

http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/yav.htm

I encourage you took take a look around at all the YAV's newsletters. I am not the only person serving in the world. There are incredible people all over the world serving God in so many wonderful ways. Take a look. I have many dear friends that have posted newsletter!

Blessings and love to you all!

Melissa

The Baron in the Bell tower.

This week we took our first retreat together. It was a very needed break from Belfast and our jobs. We just needed to get away and some of us (me included) needed to take our minds off of not being home for Thanksgiving. We had scattered rain and clouds most of the way there, however Ireland's beauty cannot be masked by clouds and rain. Yes, sun would exemplify this already beautiful land, but even when it is freezing and the wind is blowing a Gail, you cannot help but gasp while watching the landscape unfold in front of your eyes as the land rushes by you while we drove on. We went to the far Western half of N. Ireland. The roads are narrow, the hills are rolling and spotted with sheep, and the little towns you pass though have a strange kind of welcome to them almost like you are coming home upon entering them.

We took our time and made the trip slowly, stopping often to get out and tour little places here and there. We stopped in the town of Omagh. We first went into the Church of Ireland and looked around. It was beautiful and packed full of history reaching all the way back to St. Patrick. We then went to the St. Patrick's Catholic Church to have a look see around. Upon entering the cathedral my eyes were commanded upward to the sweeping ceilings that reached as far as the eye could see. Lined with Angeles holding musical instruments and the sides lined with Latin phrases which translated meant, "You are the truth and the light" among many other phrases that I could not translate with my limited Latin background. Like most cathedrals built during this time the isles led down to a crossroads that showed the center of the cathedral made a cross, opening up to the wings of the church that were devoted to memorials for former Bishops and Father's that had given their life to the church and to God. Also like most churches in Northern Ireland there was a wing of the church dedicated to the memory of those who had given their lives in the wars over the years. Being that remembrance day has just past, it was still decorated with poppies, a flower that signifies remembrance in these parts. It is also the flower that grows wild now in the battlefields in France and other places where wars were once fought. We had just about finished our self guided tour of this incredible church when a older gentleman entered the church and began to talk to several of the YAV's. We soon all joined in on this conversation just around the time that we found out that he was the organist in this place of worship. It was his 83 birthday that day and he was there to practice the bells in the bell tower, this man was fascinating at first, we had no idea what we were in for...

This man's name was George and he was a Baron, son of a Baron in France. His grandfather, a talented and well known sculptor, his family is well known and apparently in the dictionary if you were to look them up. He was undoubtedly on of the most interesting people I have ever met in my life. For the next hour we spent with this incredible man. He first offered to take us up to the choir loft to have a look around, then we got that far and he asked if we wanted to see the bell tower. 107 steps later we were in a cold, damp, high up place that had the most elaborate pulley system of bells I have ever seen. It looks much like an organ, complete with foot peddles. The "piano" was a system of wooden pegs that were hooked up to pulley ropes that rung the bells. He sat down and started playing, he used his whole body when he played and sang along with himself, usually in French. It was nothing short of stunning to watch him play. Here we were in a bell tower, high over the city of Omagh with the man that plays the songs that everyone hears 2 miles outside of town. We sat and watched him in amazement for an hour. We all got to play, even if it was something simple. The best part besides hearing his stories to me was when 1 o'clock came around. Those bells the Westminster Chimes are on a schedule, they keep people all over the land on time. George said when they came on (which was the most intense sound from the bell tower let me say) that he liked to be naughty a little and upon the bells chiming then doing the one big, loud BONG for one o'clock, he instructed Jess, my roommate to hit that bell again. We, the YAV's of 2007 were now responsible for making everyone in Omagh, and surrounding areas think that it was really two o'clock rather than one. He laughed a laugh that I will never forget, we all grabbed our sides from laughing pains and then he said, everyone in the town is thinking, wow, this day sure is flying by!

Things like that just don't happen. They happen for a reason. This, among many other memories I have made in N. Ireland will stick with me my entire life. For years to come I will be telling the story of the Baron in the Bell tower.

Peace and Blessings to all of you.

Passion to fuel the fire...

Hello everyone! I hope that this all finds you doing really well in all of your different places in life. Life is Belfast is moving along with rapid pace. I find myself wondering where the time goes. We have been here for 2 and a half months now and it seems like yesterday. Getting used to the pace of life here takes a while, not to mention the weather, which I am still adjusting to I guess. The weather can really change through all of the seasons in one day here. Today was the perfect example. It was cloudy and cool this morning when I left, then it was warm and sunny after I got done with a meeting, then it was cold and raining when we left the grocery store just now. Wow. It really is a different world here living on an island.

Today I went to a meeting and it really made me think. I was then able to kind of form some of my thoughts in a formally fashion and thought you all might want to read what I have learned over the past couple of weeks. Things are still very new to me in a lot of ways here. I think that finding your footing in a new place is very difficult. It is especially difficult to be working with the peace and reconciliation act when you were not present for the fight that led to this damage. It is sometimes very hard to put into perspective. It is almost like reading the second book in a three-book set. You constantly feel like you are missing pieces of the puzzle. Like most political things, the situation here is very complex, very confusing and very messy! I attended a meeting today with people from all over N. Ireland that are working for the peace and reconciliation act. The morning was entitled "Loyalist matter too..." This meeting was talking about community and how we must reach out to those of us who are not like us if we are going to make a difference. The meeting lasted all morning and we heard from people from all over N. Ireland that are involved in finding peace in this place. This meeting was to see what others were doing (networking), seeing what else can be done (outlook), and then empowering those who are working for peace to continue the fight and to re-light the fire within that it takes to work on such a tedious task. It was incredible to be in a room of peacemakers. I was very inspired by the morning. It fueled my fire to be here for sure.

Sometimes I find it difficult in life to find the time and the energy to be passionate about all that I feel passionate about. It is such a hard balance to be able to see a need and then to be able to act on that. N. Ireland is acting on this call. They have seen that there needs to be passion in order to find peace in this place. All of these people in one way or another were there because they are passionate. Passionate about peace, passionate about God, passionate about their community. It was wonderful to feel that passion.

What I am doing here could most accurately be described as relational work. Basically I am to build relationships. Relationships therefore encourage communication, which then sparks interest in what makes the other person tick, that then leads to compromise, then that leads to peace and friendship. Although this process happens everyday, we all have relationships in our lives, we all have friends and loved ones that we keep up with it is not easy task. This is one of the hardest things in the world to do. It involves a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of care. All of the volunteers are finding the challenge of it here. Be it the relationships we are building here, or the ones we are desperately trying to stay a part of back home.

Peace is such a small word for such a huge concept. Peace this week came in the form of a elderly woman in my pensioners group telling me that she loved me and giving me a kiss of the cheek after I came and found her when she was lost in a town shopping. Peace came in a little girl in my homework club writing on her white board that she loved me and giving me a smile and a hug. Peace came in getting to see someone from Amarillo who is in town for a week preparing to bring his youth group from Amarillo back in June for a mission trip. It came in the form of talking about things back home, shared dear friends and miracles like the Buffs being 10-0. Peace. It comes and goes. But when it comes...isn't it something.

Peace and love be with you all!

Melissa

A Few Autumn Pictures

Ulster Folk Museum and the changing leaves.

Belfast Castle and the changing leaves.

Cave Hill and the pretty colors.

Not all those who wander are lost...

Greetings to all! Autumn has come in Northern Ireland. The weather is getting colder (yes colder than it already was to begin with) and the leaves are starting to change. We went to Belfast Castle today and the trees were just breathtaking with their changing leaves. While we were hiking up to the Castle that is just beneath Cave Hill in Belfast overlooking the sea, the leaves were ever so softly falling from the branches and it was just perfect. It was nice to do a bit of sightseeing today. We were celebrating one of my fellow YAV's birthdays and she likes to just walk around a lot, so Belfast Castle was just the place for us.

Things have been going well since I last wrote you. I unfortunately got the flu about a week ago and felt pretty miserable there for a while, but after talking to numerous N. Irelanders, the flu is a thing that all Americans catch while here. The climate is just so different here. It is really hard to go from living in the desert to living on an island. All of that to say that I am almost 100% now and hope that this will be my first and last time to have to get through the flu while I am here.

The newness of this place is quickly wearing off and we are all starting to realize the task at hand. While all of us know that this place will end up changing us much more than we will change it, we all I think hope to leave a little something behind in our travels. Weather it is the banana song that I have taught my kids at The Vine, or maybe a conversation with youth about change and peace...we all want to make a difference, give back to the difference Northern Ireland is going to be making on us. The stress of living here is very subtle, sometimes it creeps in and nothing seems to change. However, sometimes the stress gets to you in a crippling way. All of us YAV's this last couple of weeks have had something happen that just about sent us over the edge. This may sound funny, but it was a very good thing. It created a chance for us to look out for one another and this in turn strengthened our already strong bond with each other and the ones that we work with. My "breakdown" was getting so sick. Those of you who know me know that I usually get sick when I have pushed myself to hard. This is a hard thing to learn from. I keep telling myself that I will learn not to push it that hard again...then I find my next challenge down the road and I am in the same situation all over again. Old habits are hard to let go...aren't they?

I thank you all for your letters and e-mails, comments and words of encouragement. They mean more to me than you will ever know.

These past weeks I have found peace and grace in so many things. Like Nichole Nordeman says in her song called "grace"..."grace finds beauty in everything." That's just it there, to be able to see peace or grace you have to be willing to open your mind and your heart to the prospect of it being in everything. Peace has come this week in a group of kids singing, the leaves falling, the few sunny days we have had, and in feeling better after the flu. I find more and more that peace is something that not only N. Ireland is working for, but we all are working for. The questions still plagues me in my time here, what is peace? Is it attainable? What can I do to find peace? These are questions that I am taking from the community here and I am putting in my own life. I too, just like N. Ireland am looking for peace.

Peace be with all of you this day and all of the days to come.

Blessings and love-
Melissa

Hello all!

Hello there from Belfast. Things are going well with me. I am starting to get used to my daily life here and the many tiny differences vs my life in the U.S. As you become more accustomed to the life that surrounds you, you find that you miss things and notice differences that you did not even think about when you had them, now that you are without them.

Little things here are different like cooking. As I tried to bake a cake for my roommate Jess's birthday I found that the ingredients of the cake here are harder to find. I ended up having to go back and forth to the store trying to get it all right. It turned out to be a blob of a cake, but it was made with lots of love! Haha! We had fun last night celebrating her birthday together! Some other things that are different is the drastic changes in the temperature. It can literally change seasons four times in one day here in Belfast. You can start out with a mild, sunny morning, that slowly turns to clouds and rain, then to wind and sun, then to hot, then to bitterly cold! This is new to me.

I learned how to bleed a radiator this last week. We got our heat turned on this week in the house and I quickly noticed that mine was not getting hot at all. I called around a bit and ended up getting directions to bleed the radiator. This is a slow process...I probably could not tell you why it worked, but it thankfully did!

Work has been busy. I am starting to make some really good friendships with co-workers and people that I work with as well. The kids are challenging here. Some are wonderful, don't get me wrong, but behavior here is a bit of a problem. I have never had to kick anyone out of anything in my life, but this last week I had to kick 4 fifteen or sixteen year old girls out of my program. It felt strange and sad, but it was necessary. I can't say a lot more than that because this is a blog and anyone can access it!

It is starting to hit me, missing home that is, and the inevitable homesickness. I think that I just realize now how far away everyone seems. It is my Dad's birthday next week and I am sad that I am not going to be there. This is the first of many things that I am going to miss this year while being here. It is good to start this process of homesickness. The way I think about it is that if you are homesick, that means that you have an awful lot of blessings in your life that you miss. I do indeed have so many people that I miss. I am so very lucky to be able to miss people and places the way I do.

Something that I am also realizing is that doing something like what I am doing changes you and the people around you in so many ways. I think that it is changing me the most though. Although I am here to help, to influence, to change others, I get the sneaking suspicion that I am being changed much more than I am in fact changing others. I think that if you realize that about life, you are the better for it. I always knew that I would be shaped by my experience here. I just did not know by how much.

Peace this week has come in many forms. As I am constantly looking for peace in this strange place that I am getting to know, and the people that I am getting to know, I see facets of peace in small ways. Much like grace, I feel times of peace in my own life as well as see peace emerging in this place of unrest. Peace came in the form of a few minutes of silence with just me and my guitar this week. I had a few minutes just to myself to play my guitar and watch it rain. It was healing, it was just what I needed. Peace and grace really are in everything. It is in the sun that shines on my face while I walk to work. It is in the moments of stillness that our body yearns for but rarely gets. May you find peace and grace in the little moments in your life this week.

All my love-
Melissa

Peace is in everything...

The rose garden within the Botanical Gardens of Belfast.

Jess, Sarah, Mo and me at the Botanical Gardens in Belfast.

This is the view outside the back of our house!

Hello everyone!

The weather is changing here in Belfast. We find ourselves freezing most of the time, even indoors. I came home the other day from a long day at work to find my roommates all on the couch in the living room with every piece of clothing that they had brought, bundled under about 10 blankets! Needless to say, it's cold here. To those of us that live in the South, it is about as cold as we have ever seen. This last Tuesday was just about the coldest I have ever been. You see, the cold here is different. It's a wet cold, one that chills you to be bone.

Having said all of that. All of your warm and encouraging comments you have left me has helped me to fight this cold weather, my heart truly is warmed by you and your prayers.

This week has been busy. I find myself getting into a real routine now. I feel like this is my home now. The old adage "home is where the heart is" is very true. Although I miss my friends and family dearly, my heart, my mind, and my life is here. Sometimes that is a troubling and a very hard thing to grasp.

I have learned though that if you are going to be any good to this world, you have to give it your all...including your heart.

This place is all about heart. I am learning what getting to the heart of the matter really means. Sunday was my first meeting with my youth group. Although it was a joyous event, it was masked by the fact that earlier that morning in church I found out that a young man, 15 years old, had taken his life. This boy used to be a part of this group that I was just starting to get to know. Although the kids did not say much when we prayed for him and his family, I could see it in their eyes. So many of these kids have lost so much.

It seems to me that the more I build relationships the more I realize that everyone here has been influenced by the troubles in some way. Here I am, only a month into my stay and I have been influenced as well. Although I never knew this young man, I will be hearing about him and counseling our youth through this hard and dreadful time.

On a lighter note, I get to go to my first rugby match here tonight. We are all so excited as we have been watching the rugby world cup on t.v. for the last few weeks just trying to understand this violent, strange game. We are excited for the outing and excited to see what all the fuss is about. The Irish DO love their rugby. That and futbol.

I hope that this finds all of you doing well. May you find peace in your own life. May you take time to listen. Listen for God, listen for yourself, just listen.

God's Blessings-

Melissa

Finding my way...

This is a park that is just up the road from our house. We go there for picnics sometimes!



Some green Irish hills. Beautiful right?


Hello everyone. It has been a while since I last blogged and I feel like I have so much to say. Since I last wrote I have been very busy trying to find my feet in this new place. I have been meeting new people, starting to build new relationships, and learning my way around Belfast.

My co-workers and congregation members are all very wonderful and have indeed made me feel very welcome. I attended my first Sunday at my church and spoke twice in the service. It was a good way to get to know people and let them get to know me. I felt very much at home with their kind smiles and greetings. I also got to meet some of my youth group members, one of which has just come home from going to the U.S. I look forward to hearing more about her impression.

This week I have been trying to get used to the bus system here in Belfast. I got to work this morning with no trouble at all, that in itself is a blessing. I had a little time before my first meeting so I took the time to sit in a nearby park to reflect and write a little in my journal. It was a beautiful day today in Belfast, the sun was out (a rare occurrence). People here that I meet are convinced that I brought that sunshine with me from Texas, they are very grateful for that! They say I can stay!

I find myself getting more into a routine. I had my first interactive chat with my University for my Internship on Friday. It went very well and made me smile to think that everyone cares enough about me in Canyon Texas to get online and chat with me. I miss the people in Canyon. I miss my professors and my fellow classmates. I however am in awe of the power of their prayers and well wishes for me. I can feel it you know, I can feel that power of prayer!

I realize more than ever now that I am here for a reason. Today I went to Bangor with my pastor, the trip was beautiful, through the hills above Belfast. Bangor is on the sea, it is truly beautiful. As we were driving through the green and lush hills of Ireland today I realized how very lucky I am. I am truly blessed.

My relationships that I make here are going to shape me for the rest of my life.

I keep thinking about this question. What is peace? That is something that I ask myself every day. Much like grace, I look for peace here. This week peace has been shown to me in many forms. Peace was the lunch that was prepared for me by some new friends and fellow co-workers from my church on Sunday. Peace was in the faces of the little kids that I sit and listen to as they read in an after school program. Peace is all around. God is all around.

Belfast a City Divided...

Here you will see one of the groups marching. Look on the right side of the picture where you will see a "peace line" which is to separate the Protestant and Catholic streets in the community. There is 15 miles of "peace lines" or walls that are up all over the city. These are constructed to keep things from being thrown from one side to the other.




Pictured above is the Loyalist group marching the streets of Belfast. Behind you will see some of the murals that are painted on the buildings that depict the troubles. These murals are all over the city.



Hello everyone and greetings from Ireland. Upon flying into Belfast Tuesday night I was awe struck by the beauty of this part of the world. We flew in right as the sun was setting over the Island and it was just a wonderful way for us to be welcomed into our new home for the year. We all were tired and ready for a shower and a bed. We did not do much after we arrived except get ready for bed and hit the sack. The next day was just a day of rest and preliminary tours around the city. We took a car ride all over the city to kind of get our barrings (which has proven to be difficult and very confusing).


My first impression on Belfast was not t