Adventures

Hello!  It’s been a little while since I’ve written and so much has happened!  Last Monday I went to Staff Conference in Kilkeel.  Sally and I drove through Downpatrick and Newcastle along the coast to Kilkeel.  Although the drive down was cloudy, I was still able to see the Mourne Mountains!  As in “the place where the dark Mourne sweep down to the sea”.  They were so gorgeous!!  Yes, they were dark, and yes, they swept down to the Irish sea.  It was a very thrilling moment for me.

When Sally and I arrived at Seaview, the CEF camp, we took our bags straight to our rooms and went to our first meeting.  There were a lot of meetings at this conference.  I was overwhelmed a bit by the information.  But there were also Bible studies that were very challenging.  Alistair McNealy spoke on 2 Timothy.  The daily schedule basically consisted of going to a Bible study, then a coffee break, meeting, then lunch, then meeting, then tea, then meeting and so on.  There was a lot of meeting and a lot of eating.  However, in the middle of this, I was able to meet so many CEF workers.  I met missionaries, and got to know the rest of the office staff.  It made things seem a bit less intimidating, and everyone was very welcoming!  The other girls in my room were the crazy ones in the group.  They took it upon themselves to be the last ones awake each night.  This made for a lot of fun and a lot of laughs.  During the free time we did get every once in a while, I was able to walk around town and take pictures of the sea and the mountains.

I was supposed to go home on Wednesday with Sally, but there was a concert going on that evening.  Everyone thought I should go, and felt bad that I couldn’t because my drive and hostess was leaving that evening.  So, a few strings were pulled and a new lift home was found, and I was given a ticket to see Stuart Townend in concert!  For those of you who don’t know, Stuart Townend is a modern day hymn writer who has written songs like “In Christ Alone” and “How Deep the Father’s Love”.  I was so excited to see him perform, and I was not disappointed!  It was amazing!  I had a fantastic time, and am so glad I was able to go.  I even got him to autograph my ticket!

After the concert, it was another late night and early morning.  Since I was still there, I attended the final day of meetings.  Then, about mid-afternoon, a girl named Angie drove me back to Sally’s.  Mark had told me not to go to the office the next day, so I used it as a school day.

Saturday morning arrived bright and sunny, so Sally and I got up early and had a touristy day.  We started out at an old post office turned into a tea room, then drove toward Downpatrick stopping to take pictures of the Killyleagh castle.  We then took the ferry to the Ards Peninsula.  We drove all up the peninsula, and stopped in Bangor for some lunch and shopping.  From there we went to Scrabo Tower!  That is the tower I mentioned in my last post.  I got to see it up close!  It was beautiful!  It was about 4:30pm by the time we arrived home, happily exhausted.

Sunday morning, we got up for church, and had a nice time of worship.  Unfortunately, the pastor’s wife was under the weather, so we weren’t able to have dinner with his family.  However, we’re going to try again later on this year.  That evening, Sally and I were eating supper when she glanced at the time, and we realized the church service started in ten minutes!  So we madly ran around, dumping our tea down the sink, and brushing our teeth.  We actually made it in the nick of time.  I was rather impressed.

Monday, I got up early and repacked all my luggage, and about 2pm Mark and Kathy showed up to take me to my official home.  I arrived at Jaci’s house just a short drive later.  Kathy and Mark had to return to the office, so they quickly left.  I spent the afternoon settling in, and going to Tesco (the grocery store) for some food.  Jaci can’t have wheat, so I bought my own pasta and bread and so on.  While we were out, she drove the route that I would be walking to the office.

When we returned we made our individual suppers, and then she had to leave for a meeting.  So, I spent the evening unpacking and whatnot.  When she returned we ended up talking until about midnight.  So it was a late night, but it was nice to get to know my new housemate.

Jaci is very kind and sweet.  I think we’ll get along well.  She is a part of the team of missionaries working with CEF in Belfast.  Her house is wonderful and very girly.  The front door is purple, along with many of the accessories.  My room is the perfect size, and she’s also redone the attic as a second living room.

This morning, I woke up very early, because I was nervous about my walk to the office and the work I would be learning.  So I got up and got ready, and still only managed to run out the door at the last minute.  I began walking the route that Jaci had shown me, and got to the McDonald’s.  I remembered there was something about the McDonald’s I was supposed to know… it was either “make sure you turn left here” or “make sure you go straight here”.  And I couldn’t remember what it was!  So I went straight.  It was the wrong way.  I kept walking and walking… and nothing looked familiar.  It turns out, I was supposed to turn left at the McDonald’s, but the route I went took me to CEF eventually.  It just added about 10 minutes to my walk.  I guess I’ll know for next time!

As it turns out, when I arrived in the office Kathy wasn’t there yet.  So I rewrote a few notes, and then went down to help Emma in the bookshop.  Kathy arrived just before coffee break.  After that, we spent the day going over what I’m going to need to know.  I answered the phone a couple times, and I don’t think I was too awkward.  Over all, it was a good day.

Now, tomorrow I have my scheduled school day, and I’m back in the office on Thursday.  I’m finally starting to settle in.  In a few weeks, this may be old hat.  For now, it’s still nerve wracking and exciting and every little thing is new.  I hope to have many more stories to share with you in the coming days.

Please continue to remember me in your prayers.  I’ll try to keep everyone as updated as possible.  Love you all!