Highs and Lows.

If i’m honest I’m struggling to sort through the mixed emotions that I have experienced throughout this past week. It’s been a great week in some aspects and a really eye opening and heartbreaking week in others.  There were moments where I had to just take a step back because the culture and the apathy hit me and I was struggling to comprehend it. Other moments where I was so encouraged and excited because, I could see God at work in this town. That being said let me take you through my week.

Midnight street soccer last Saturday night was great. There were 8 boys this time. Even though it’s freezing cold standing out on the soccer field for three hours at night, it’s fast become one of the things I look forward to all week.  Sad to say that tonight will be our second last night for this year.  It’s given me an opportunity to build relationships with these boys that would have taken a lot longer if I had just hung out with them at the centre two nights a week.  The fact that they are now teasing me and I have the freedom to be sarcastic back is great.  When I ask them simple questions and get a honest reply as opposed to a shrug of the shoulders.  It’s small steps, and I know it will still take time, but it encourages me to see that progress is being made

Sunday, was a good, how be it a very busy day. I had church in the morning, than I went home to my host family in the afternoon. They are a lovely couple with two teenage boys.  Everybody has been really welcoming at the church, which i’m really thankful for. I spent the afternoon there and than i came back home for a couple hours than headed back to the church for youth fellowship.  It was a little bit awkward at first and I felt really out of place, but towards the end of the night I began to feel more comfortable. I’m still unsure as all of what happens at YF as last week was not the norm. So we will see how tomorrow night goes.

Monday morning arrived along with it, came breakfast club. I’ll be perfectly honest breakfast club is not my favourite thing. It’s 45 minutes that can feel like hours.  The girls can be incredible challenging and difficult. It’s there that the culture and apathy of these kids has really hit me. Where girls that are younger than my little sister, are talking about going and getting drunk, and talking about sex as if they were talking about what they were going to wear tomorrow.  It’s been a hard week in that aspect. After breakfast club we had to rush off as we were doing an assembly in Ballynure primary school.  Than right after that we headed off again as Jonny and I were attending a mini kind of conference on “Courageous leadership.” It was really good and really challenging. A lot of the stuff you already new, but it was good to be reminded and to think of it in a different way.  Than we headed back to the centre and tried to get some prep done for drop in that night and the following night.  Drop in that night was good, we had a bit bigger crowd than the past couple week even some of the girls came. It was great a night. My pool skills are improving although rather slowly.

Tuesday the day started around noon, which was nice. A bit of a frantic day in the office as we had an SU at 3 in Doagh primary school than several things that we still had to get done for drop in that night.  SU  was actually really fun only about 10 boys and girls, a bit hyper, but than what do you expect when school has just been let out for the day? After that, Jonny and I headed back to the office. I spent the next couple hours working on a power point project, for Hot Seat at drop in that night. Meanwhile,  Jonny headed out to coach football for a couple hours. We finished getting ready for drop in and not a moment too soon as volunteers and than the kids started showing up. The bracelets that we made over the summer was started up again on Monday night, so a couple of the kids wanted to make some more in the first bit of that night. I’m still amazed at how such a simple thing is still so popular amongst the boys and the girls. Plus it gives me an opportunity to sit and chat with them for a good 30 minutes while they are busying making the bracelet :)  Hot seat was good,  I think we will change it up a bit the next time, because by the time we go to the more serious question we had already lost most of the kids. You take what you can get, and hopefully learn and try to do it differently the next time. Thank you all for your prayers though!

Wednesday morning was met with breakfast club once again. By this point in the week I was already drained and tired, so it was easy for me to get discouraged that morning.  However, it’s amazing how a day can start so discouraging and by the afternoon it’s turned in to the most encouraging.  In between after school drop in and breakfast club , Jonny and I made a quick trip to Belfast to pick up supplies for next weeks Tuesday night drop in which is Art’s and Crafts night.  I spent the remaining hours before drop in that afternoon making crafts. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Drop in was amazing. In so many ways. It was a fairly decent crowd again. A few boys that I hadn’t seen since the summer came back in and it was good to see them! One of the boys who is about 13 came behind the tuck shop and we were just chatting away about football and computer games when out of the blue he asks “Mandy, when did you become a Christian?”  I began to tell and give a brief explanation on to how it happened, than he proceeds to say “ I became one three weeks ago!” His face was just so full of joy and excitement and I began to ask him a few questions wanting to make sure he really understood. It was so encouraging. His older brother had become a believer earlier on that summer, and both of them attend drop in quite regularly. It quite simply made my day.  It’s been neat to see that the seeds that had been planted four and five years although it’s taken time these kids are so much more open to the Gospel and really searching.  Pray that Holy Spirit will continue to work in their lives.

Thursday, Jonny and I from what I can remember were busy in the office for the majority of the day. We had our Youth Justice guy in for a bit cleaning the centre. He’s going to be a new volunteer taking care of the tuck shop on Monday and Tuesday nights to help get rid of some of his hours. Pray that after his hours are done he will still want to continue to come, and see the difference in Jonny, myself and the other volunteers.

Friday was a fairly relaxed day, Nadine (the new staff member) came down in the morning to help Jonny and I, do a thorough clean of the centre as she was having a coffee morning there today as a fundraiser. That evening Jonny and Laura, had Elaine, Neil and I over for “tea”. Us Canadians would call it supper. We spent the evening just chatting about life and God and played a couple hands of monopoly deal. It was a fun night.

So there you have it. Please feel free to ask questions. I will try to get back to you when I have a few spare moments. Thanks again for all your prayers! Until next week...