Last three days, we spent our time at one of the Catholic estates called Dunclug. It was great to see the kids that I met last year – Abigail, Philip, Dane, Rebecca, Steven, Anthony, and Decklan. I played a lot of football (soccer) with them and I got my butt kicked. We sang songs, shared bible stories, memorized bible verses, and did crafts. It was very hard to leave them once again, spending only three short days with them. I talked to one of the mom’s one day, and she told me how her kids (Philip and Dane) look forward to this every year. She told me that they look forward to every summer hanging out with the Americans. That meant so much to me, even when I think hanging out with the kids seems unproductive and meaningless.
I usually don’t talk about Christian beliefs, for whatever reasons. But I had a conversation with Steven, a 12-year old kid whom I met last year.
YB: What do you think it means to be a Christian?
Steven: Someone who doesn’t smoke, do drugs, or drink. Someone who is perfect.
YB: Do you think I’m perfect?
Steven: Yeah, all of you Americans are perfect. You guys don’t smoke and don’t do drugs.
YB: I’m not perfect. I still do bad things. To me, being a Christian doesn’t mean doing this or that. It’s about trusting God and asking forgiveness for what I have done.
Steven: You’re still perfect.
YB: No I’m not.
Steven: Yes you are.
YB: after slapping his head. Am I still perfect?
Steven: Yeah.
Ha, I wanted to punch his face, just to prove that I’m not perfect. But then I realized I didn’t want to traumatize him forever. What else could I do?
Here are some more pictures:
We went to the beach in Portrush Sunday and hung out. The water was freezing and it started raining, but nevertheless, we had a great time.
Also we climbed Slemish, which is about 30 min. away from where we stayed. It was a small hike up compared to Slieve Donard, but it was so amazing to see miles and miles of green pastures. And Sheep!
We played foot-tag on top of Slemish.
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