mumford @ mandela's

-These pictures don't really do it justice at all, but I went to see one of my favorite bands, Mumford and Sons, perform at the Mandela Hall here in Belfast. They're a bluegrass/folk/rock band from England (who knew?) and have really taken off this year. It honestly was one of the most electric, earnest and exciting concerts I've been to all year. Their thoughtful lyrics, make-you-dance rhythms and humble talent ("we keep waiting for everyone to realize we're not good!") merged with the overwhelming excitement in the room as everyone sang their songs word-for-word at the top of our lungs made for a night I won't soon forget.

-I sometimes forget that I live in a different country (especially after being at a gig that was much like home) because I'm just so used to life here. "Wee's" become part of my everyday speech, cups of tea commonplace and sunshine, rain and hail all in the span of thirty minutes ordinary. Every now and then, I have moments that remind me that I'm in a different place. Case in point tonight: I needed to pop around the corner to the shop (ha! Talking in the vernacular now!) and get something and it was so easy to just toss a couple of pound coins in my pocket and go. I really do like the change instead of bills thing.

-Another great theologically stimulating conversation with Ri over coffee and tea.

-A girl across from me in the coffee shop exclaimed to her friend, "Life is good!"

drumming up peace

-Going to my happy place (St. George's, of course!) and meeting up with good friends for good food and a chat. I just love it.

-I've been a little obsessed with this gorgeous little blue purse Andrea has and today she revealed where it was found and that it only cost 3 pounds! We've both given up shopping for ourselves for Lent, so we sort of cheated and I bought her a scarf she wanted and she bought me the little blue purse. Seconds after buying them, we swapped and said, "Thanks!" I'm sure it's cheating, but oh well.

-Yesterday there were several bomb alerts in Belfast and Derry, but despite that these remarkably resilient Belfast folk all showed up at youth club, some after being delayed for over an hour because of them, where we had a drum circle the whole time. Several Romanian kids returned too, a perfect night as it was mostly non-verbal communication. Things are fine here, don't worry, if anything the frustration of threats has made people even more resolved that this chapter of Northern Irish history is closed. I think it's created the opposite effect dissident groups causing them are going for. Things are back to normal today. I continue to be impressed and inspired by people here.

paddy, todo and freddie b

Hi everybody! I'm back (well, I've been here, but my computer's been sick and it's back). The laptop guru Andrew has my laptop virus-free and functioning better than she has in years. She's (not sure why she's a she, she just is) over 5 years old and so this for a laptop was the equivalent of a hip replacement that will keep her moving! We have a bit of catching up to do.

-I received two amazing care packages, one from my sista for St. Paddy's Day full of green goodies and adorable niece pictures and one from my grandmother full of warm caps knitted by my great-aunt Lolly. Both were so thoughtful and made me feel much closer to home (and much warmer)! My sister also made a doozy of a St. Paddy's Day blog in my honor! So great.-We had a youth retreat last weekend and had a brilliant time. There were about 30 young people and we were talking about grace all weekend. I used Ephesians a lot, a story from my time in South Africa, a clip from Amelie where she returns a middle-age man's childhood treasures to him sneakily and, of course, some wisdom from Frederick Buechner (I call him "Freddie B" in front of the kids). Here's one of the quotes I used (in addition to the one that's always on this blog):

"The grace of God means something like this: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are, because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It’s for you I created the universe. I love you. "

-The day after coming back from the youth retreat, I found myself Dublin-bound on an 8 am train to visit one of my dad's best friends, my Uncle Todo. He had been travelling around Ireland with a church group and they had a day off in Dublin, so I went down to meet him. We talked (a lot) about Irish/Northern Irish history, my experience here, his family, his travels, my dad and in between all that talking, we managed to have a great lunch, stop in a pub for a coke and stop again later for a cappucino and a chocolate in Butler's Chocolate Cafe. We strolled around St. Stephen's Green and at one point he turned to an older couple sitting on a bench, basking in the rare sunshine and said in his characteristically Texan drawl, "Y'aaaalll look like you're workin' reeeall hard!" I'm not sure they even understood his accent, but it made me laugh. We also went in a very upscale cigar shop on Grafton Street (Uncle Todo loves cigars) and he proceeded to pull one of his Texas-made Travis Club cigars out of his pocket and give it to the man working there, saying "Here's a little something for you to try...the only cigar made in Texas!" I guarantee that the cigar shop man had never actually been given a cigar by a customer before. That's just how Uncle Todo is. He brought me an 8 lb bag of flour tortilla mix and I've already made several. They taste just like home. Uncle Todo and my dad have been friends since they were very small and I felt like I got to know my dad in a new way by spending a day with one of his best friends. It was great.

-St. Patrick's Day was spent in the Holylands, the area around Fitzroy. There are about 7,000 students who live there, the vast majority of them Catholic, and so St. Patrick's Day is a very big deal. Last year, unfortunately, the drinking got out of control and the police came in in full riot gear to confront the students, which of course, started a riot. It was not good. But this year, we decided to be more proactive than reactive and give the students bacon sandwiches, biscuits, tea and coffee all day long to keep them a bit more sober and to show some Protestant goodwill towards St. Patrick's Day. It was a success: plenty of drunken antics and seas of green people, but no rioting or violence. Now that's a happy St. Paddy's Day in Belfast. :)

into the blue

Last weekend, I had the rare chance to get away and a wonderfully generous family at Fitzroy offered me their holiday home to escape to in Castlerock. I hopped on the train wielding my tea and cinnamon roll and excitedly prepared to get away from it all on the beach. I sat next to a very friendly, very chatty older woman named Lily, and we (well, her really) talked most of the way there. Before I knew it, Iwas lugging my bag off of the train and looking around at a quaint, sunlit beach community.

The very modern house I was staying in was just a short walk away and I quickly fell in love with the personality and simplicity of Castlerock. I bought eggs and bacon from the "village butcher" (that's his official name), warm homemade wheaten bread from the bakery and a few other things from the only grocery store in town--all right within walking distance. My friend Suzie was nearby visiting her parents and so she came up on Saturday in her mini convertable and we walked the beach, drove around a bit and had coffee in the coffee shop (yup, the only one in town). I expected myself to hibernate in the amazing house and cook, sleep and spend a couple of days in my pj's, but having the beach just a 10-minute walk away was too tempting.

The sun shone brightly the whole time, and I had my very own spot in the dunes (you can walk in them here) to read and watch the waves every day. The sky was, like described once in Harry Potter, "so blue that it looked like it had been enamelled." I drank my morning coffee on the beach, walked along cliff edges (gulp!), had homemade ice cream and read Harry Potter and Buechner on the beach during the day, then hibernated as soon as the warming sun went down at night by cooking and watching Harry Potter (bit of a theme here) and Stardust. It was refueling, refreshing, re-creating. What a wonderful time!

happy birthday!

I'm fresh off the train from a blissful weekend at Castlerock and have many pictures & experiences to share from that, but today there are more important things to share: it's my sista's birthday! Happy birthday, Ash!

From big days...

...to breakfast in the ATL...

...to Irish adventures...

...to relaxing at Mac...

...to great "Mo"ments...

...to even greater moments...you're the most amazing sista ever! Love you! Whit

grace space

This morning my Frederick Buechner Lenten devotional looked at how happiness is created by people, while joy comes from God. He said, "...we never take credit for our moments of joy because we know that they are not human-made and that we are never really responsible for them. They come when they come. They are always sudden and quick and unrepeatable. The unspeakable joy sometimes of just being alive. The mirable sometimes of being just who we are with the blue sky and the green grass, the faces of our friends and the waves of the ocean, being just what they are."

After a week of 16-hour days rife with important but demanding meetings, fundraisers, mission efforts and pastoral care, I have found myself with a Sunday in which there are no demands on me whatsoever. This very rarely happens, and as we have a big youth retreat away next weekend, I thought I should really take advantage of a space of grace in my schedule and get away somewhere for real Sabbath time. On a whim, I asked on facebook if any of my lovely Norn Iron friends had a holiday home on the North Coast that needed a visitor, and the amazing Autersons from church offered theirs within an hour. So, I'm off tomorrow morning on the train to Castlerock, the northern tip of this wee country, for a time of rest: beach/hill walks, pj's, cooking, eating, painting, reading Harry Potter, praying, sleeping and all that good stuff. Hopefully time to discover moments of joy in being just who I am with the blue sky and the green grass and the waves of the ocean.

I've no internet at all there (this is probably for my own good), so I'll take plenty of pictures of lovely Castlerock and share it all Monday. Happy weekend, everybody!

Peace,
Whit

spring is in the chair

-Trees that are fully embracing spring's arrival with shoots of leaves growing even on the trunk.

-The bright colors and intricate mosaic on one of my favorite buildings in Belfast. It is actually a tattoo parlor and I've never been inside, but I love how old buildings are used for newer things here.

-Going to the opening of Andrea's coffee shop on the Falls Road and enjoying friendly, community hospitality complete with a delicious hamburger and chips and chocolate cake.

-A day so spring-like that outdoor tables and chairs have sprouted up everywhere, allowing people to fully take advantage of the warm sunshine and cool breeze.

iWonder

-A letter coming into the church office with the most outlandish, whimsical handwriting on it. I wonder if this person writes their grocery list the same way.

-A middle-aged woman walking down the street wearing a Lent-purple (ha! I'm such a nerd!) coat and what looked like a matching hat. Upon closer inspection it was, in fact, that her hair was dyed the exact same shade of purple. I wonder if she changes her hair to match her clothes all the time.

-Moving at contemporary dance class with such verve that my feet were completely aching afterwards. I came home and indulged in (shameful) a Corona and some chips (fries). I wonder if I undid all the exercise I had at dance! :)

rose-colored sunglasses

-Going to the office (and admittedly being a bit grumpy about having to work on my day off) and discovering that red roses have mysteriously appeared on my desk. Fitzroy people do this from time to time and it is such a lovely thing to do.

-A blissfully blinding, clear, spring-hinting, sunny day. The warmth on my back as I walked made me want to skip.

-At the 4S Club (Soup, Sandwiches and Something Special) for the older folk at Fitzroy, Dorothy announced to them all that she had used the spa treatment they bought her for Christmas and had a facial and her nails done. They all ooh'd and ahh'd. Later at the table, Pamela showed off nails that she decided on a whim to get painted cobalt blue while Dorothy went for a dusty rose. They commented on mine (raspberry-ish) and I explained that on a particularly cold, rainy day recently I just needed to create some spring and so painted my nails a cheery color.