Hello from Northern Ireland, August 5, 2009
Today is our last day to go to Ballykeel to see all of the friends we have made there. It’s been good being able to see all Reegan, Jordan, LeJay, and Katie – friends that I met last year and have hung out with this year as well. I have been amazed at the difference in behavior this year. They are surprisingly well behaved and (mostly) attentive to us as we share songs and stories from the Bible.[1]
That same afternoon…
Weather has been great so far - cloudy and breezy. Oh man. I love it! Cool weather and Irish people makes me so happy. Oh, here are some phrases/words that are different from here.
Biscuit – cookies
Crisps – chips
Squash – juice: I told one of my co-workers this, and she asked me, “And then what do they call squash?” You know, I still don’t know.
Pants – underwear
Funny story:
During the VBS story time, Andy Byers talked about God’s creation. Reese, one of the kids who did not cooperate with us, kept messing with Andy while he was trying to tell the story. Andy said, “And do you know what God created? He created Adam and Eve. And the animals.” And Reese whispered to Andy’s ears, “And your shit!”
Today was our last day at Ballykeel and oh man, they sure did waited till the last day to show their ugly side. We became targets of BBs, water balloons, dirt, and various sports equipments. You know, as much as I wanted to discipline them after getting hit by a football, more and more I realized that I needed compassion and patience. I am no different from these messed up kids. I am just as horrible as them. I may not be punching people’s faces or shooting BB guns just to annoy them, but I sit back and realize how good I am, thinking I am somehow better than them. Pride consumes my thoughts and reasoning. I need God’s grace and mercy just as much as them.
It is so great to see that in the midst of brokenness, there is still beauty. There is still hope. There are many times when I think that this kid has no hope of turning their life around – away from drugs and whatever and trusting God and turning to Jesus – but I think that’s why I wanted to come back for second year. I wanted to believe that there is still hope for these kids. Yes. There is still hope.
August 6, 2009
We just climbed Slive Donard. I'll tell you more about it, but it was incredible. Here are some pictures from Ballykeel.
We started a drawing contest. I started my version of evil penguin and they followed. 
3 comments:
The grass in these pictures always surprises me - so green! Thanks for posting, Young-Bin!
it is so good to read updates and see pictures! i hope the rest of your time there is great.
yes, there is hope man! that's awesome, i miss ballykeel. at least you guys didn't get assaulted while leaving on a public bus like last time! so glad you got to climb slieve donard
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