Final Post

We've decided this last post will be the "What Have We All Learned/Gained/Gleaned/Experienced This Year". WARNING: This post could be literarily uncomfortable for some. It may have no rhyme or reason, no segways to create flow between points, at times thoughtful and other times, just silly, somewhat point-form with prose inbetwixt (see, I even just invented a word!), more text, less pictures. So for those of you who are prone to Literary Whiplash and/or Grammar Proofreading Addictions, take a pill before you read on. Or get your editorial staff to fix it all first, but I cannot guarantee things will not be lost in translation. :)

~ Somewhere, Somehow We "Westerners" Got It In Our Heads That We Know How To Do Things Better.~ Now, I know a lot more history of certain areas of the world than I did before this year began - for sure! However, I am not naturally a lover of history like my father-in-law, or an encyclopedia of Detailed Useless Information like our favourite Irish pastor! :) So I don't know how or why it came to be that we think so highly of ourselves. I have never been a fan of that North American stereotype, but you have to fight that temptation at all times, to think we are better than anyone, anywhere. I am all FOR learning from each other, good and bad, SHARING ideas, cultures, histories, recipes and dance moves. But let's resist (as Westerners) the urge to think ours are superior to the rest of the world's.

~ We Have Too Much Stuff ~ Less stuff is easier to pack, easier to unpack. Less stuff is easier to clean, to organize, to manage. Less stuff means less insurance, less stress about losing/breaking the stuff. Less stuff means you don't need such a big house to put all the stuff into, and therefore again, less cleaning. Or you can use the space in whatever house you have for more people, less stuff. Less stuff, less debt. Less stuff, more time. Less stuff, more God. <My husband is so gonna cringe at the purging mood I am in...if he thought I was in a purge mood before we left on this Year Away, he ain't seen nothin' yet!>



~ People ~ You may or may not have noticed that our blog did not often, if ever, have pictures of the people we met and loved along the way. I have admitted that I am a rookie blogger, and not an educated one in the least. So, I don't know, and didn't want to take the time to think about or research, what my philosophy is on the whole World Wide Web Exposure-Vulnerability-Hazards. Some may have reservations and fears, or be offended that we did or didn't mention/picture them. So we just decided not to post others' pictures or too many of their details or life stories. (And, therefore, protecting all those who are running from the law, immigration, the mob, aliens, or are in the witness protection program...juuust jokin'!) We, in NO way, meant to undermine the absolutely amazing experiences we had with PEOPLE this year. We had the honour and privilege of meeting TONS of interesting, helpful, hard-working, godly, life-giving, hilarious and caring people along the way; sharing their homes, their lives, their cultures, their beliefs, their friendships, where-to-get-the-best-tapas and which tourist attractions are a rip-off. We love you all and welcome you to allow us to return the favour anytime you want to come and visit Canada!

~ God Takes Care of You ~ big lesson to be learned. And not sure why I, for one, can't seem to learn it after a life-time of proof. We (Emery said I could include him in this one) suffer from the problem of thinking that we can take care of ourselves, are independent, strong, God-given brains and self-confidence and all that. But we were reminded over and over again this year that it's God's job, not ours, to take care of us. He cares about even the littlest details, as reminded by some new dear friends - if we aren't praying about the small things like finding a parking spot in a busy city, what are we praying about? In other words, if we aren't trusting God for small things, how can we trust Him for the big things? We embarked on this year, thinking we had it all figured out, planned, lists made and checked off. Boy, was that a dumb idea. God's plans were different AND better, "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" (The Bible-Ephesians 3:20). We experienced God taking care of big and small details as we worked, travelled, lived.

• families with kids for our kids to connect with
• "instantly comfortable friends" (another phrase I just invented) to hang out with, learn from
• housing, transportation, communication (internet, phones, etc.)
• travelling mercies (seriously, NOT ONE single hitch, wrinkle, lost bag, mix-up, cause-for-panic!)
• caring church families and pastor couples to worship with in both countries we lived in
• safety
• health (barely a runny nose)
• and many, many, many, infinitely many more things

~ We Have Some Pretty Fantastic Kids ~ Parenting is hard...at home, abroad, while working, while on vacation, when the kids are younger, older. But we, as parents, are commanded by God to "Train a child in the way he should go" (The Bible-Proverbs 22:6), to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, strength and impress that upon our children, to talk about God when we sit at home, when we walk along the road, when we lie down, when we get up and everything in between (The Bible-Deuteronomy 6:4-9). We cannot put into words how great it was to spend so.much.time.together as a family this year. Funny how this opportunity removed some of the daily life distractions and busyness of home and yet added other factors of the unknown, unfamiliarity of being abroad, being far from family and friends. Yet our family of five remained constant, our job as parents remained the same, simple, our purpose in life unified ~ to glorify God, wherever, whenever, however. We hope and pray that it was an eternal investment. Yup, our kids sometimes milked the compliments they were given by strangers, waitors, friends who told them they were such well-behaved, well-adjusted, good kids. They would sometimes use it against their mother when she reminded them for the 1,746th time to say Please and Thank you and not to belch in public. Okay, to be painfully honest here, before we left, I seriously thought I may go not just a little nuts this year...being with my kids (and husband, frankly) all day, every day. That I might miss sending them all off to school at 8:00 am and having the house and day to myself to do the rest of my job(s). But God miraculously kept any and all of those fears of insanity at bay.

~ Our Goals For This Year All Reached:

• cross-cultural experience
• Christian service opportunity
• non-Education "job"; work for free
• do it all as a family

AAAAAAAND, this is it...THE END of Our Year Away Blog. It's been a slice! Thanks to all of you who blessed us by caring enough, or just being curious enough, to read all of our ramblings.

More than one person has already mentioned that we look better, younger than when we left, "have a glow about us", 'more peaceful'? Well, not sure what to say about that...it's likely one of two things. Either:

1. <prepare for a free shameless plug for my cousin Candace again> I've been using Pure Anada's anti-aging moisturizer every day for the past year, or

2. it's true what they say: a change is as good as a rest. 

Our Year Away opened our eyes 

to what God is doing in other parts of the world,

and cultivated deeper our relationship with Him.

Stories

Preface

When we FIRST got home on July 23rd, I wanted to quickly type up a post before some of my thoughts and feelings got lost in all the chaos of returning, unpacking and readjusting.

WELL, I did type some stuff up, but it got put aside, picked up again, typed some more and before long, it was so not a picture-heavy post, but VERY VERY long and rambling and no one would EVER sit long enough at their computer or phone or iPad to read all that.

SO, it HAS to get divided up into multiple posts and you guys are stuck with us for a bit longer yet. It was going to be titled FINAL POST... not anymore. I/We feel so full of things we want to tell everybody, you're just going to have to deal with it or walk away. Whatever you choose is all good!

OKAY... the first paragraph is my actual first paragraph the day after we came home. Then are some real and true stories from our dear friends at Kiltonga Christian Centre in Northern Ireland. <the italics are mine, just to translate a few wee things into Canadian English;) >

...

Alas, this will be the final post in Our Year Away...because We Are No Longer Away...We Are Home...Home ~ that word, Home, has another whole very introspective, philosophical, random and yet concrete, describable and yet indescribable vibe to it. BUT we won't actually go there right now. Can you already tell it is 5:00 am and I am suffering from just a wee bit of jet lag?

We can't wait to share some stories with you, as most of our posts, especially lately, have been picture-heavy. And there are some incredible stories that you must hear to help you understand how we are forever changed by our experiences this year.

First, some absolutely amazing displays of God in some very-real-life-simple-every-day-happenings-that-are so-NOT-to-be-taken-lightly-because-our-God-is-IN-every-thing-in-every-day...IF and WHEN we look for Him and listen to Him and obey Him. (Yeesh, this jet lag may really play havoc with my ability to communicate in any kind of understandable way...sorry!)

Thank you, thank you, thank you, to G.A., who I recruited to write these stories down for me, so you can hear them firsthand, and so that I cannot be accused of embellishing or getting the details all wrong (that has happened to me once...maybe twice...can't quite recall, it may have been three times ~ okay, I'm admitting here and now that I'm over 40 and the memory just ain't what it used to be ~ there! I said it!).

She did an awesome job with these...here she is:

The three bananas

When we ask for donations of food it is always for non perishable food.

The reason being we don’t always know when we are going to send out a food parcel.

On arriving at the Centre one morning I arrived to find someone had left several bags of food which included bread , fruit and other perishable goods (the fruit was 3 bananas).

I have to admit my response wasn’t the best.  I more or less thought the goods would be wasted as we didn’t have any requests for that day. How wrong I  was.

Unknown to me, an elderly lady had woken that morning and had asked God what he would have her do that day. She felt that she should walk to the shopping centre, and as she went round the store she should put in the trolley (shopping cart) what she felt God wanted her to purchase. This included fresh food stuff. She then walked up from the town to our Centre with the goods in her trolley, anonymously dropped them off and walked home – her job done.

I guess I must have arrived about half an hour after she had dropped the food off.

Within about 15 minutes of my arrival the phone rang....yes you’ve guessed it, a request for a food parcel. I don’t often get to deliver parcels to individual's homes, but this day I did – God wanted to teach me a little more about His ways.

When I arrived at the home to deliver the bags of shopping, the mother was so thankful . She said today she felt that everything was coming in on top of her and she didn’t feel she could cope. She had 2 teenage children that were always  wanting something to eat and she had nothing to give them. With all the fresh food (milk , eggs and bread) she would be able to give them something immediately.

What about the 3 bananas? God knew all about that woman’s situation, the pressure/oppression she was under, before  we knew about her. He had provided for her family through the obedience of an elderly lady and through the outreach of our Centre. He knew that there were 3 in that family – hence...3 bananas.

Remember the individual is important to God.

The pink suite of furniture

A lot of furniture and other items of household goods are donated to the Storehouse.

Some items are still fashionable but others are handed in because the owners have updated their home decor and no longer want the furniture.

On one occasion a pink 3-piece – 2 chairs and a sofa were donated. To be honest I didn’t think it would be suitable for anyone . We deal mostly with single men needing to be rehoused or young families – pink isn’t a colour that’s too popular with either of these types.

It was in good condition but a velvet frilly kind that would not have a wide audience.

It’s amazing how many times when we are living by faith that God shows us and reminds us that He knows the end from the beginning.

Meanwhile we received a phone call from a lady in Belfast who deals with vulnerable women. Still don’t know how she heard about the Storehouse but she got our phone number and asked if we could deliver a food parcel to a lady in a very bad situation, emotionally, physically. When we called to deliver the parcel we were to prepare ourselves and not be too shocked by her appearance.

I delivered the food parcel to an upstairs flat (apartment) The lady could hardly put one foot past the other. You wouldn’t have kept an animal in the conditions she was living.

Long story short, the lady was able to be rehoused. The Storehouse cleaned and furnished completely her ground floor, one-bedroom bungalow. She came with a couple of bags of personal items to a house that had everything from toaster, kettle, oven – everything you would need to have a fresh start – bed fully made up with new bedding, bed-side lamp, fresh towels, pictures and flowers, etc. All she said she wanted - if it was possible - was a pink settee (sofa)!

Do you know I have never to this day seen another suite of furniture like that one – it was very dainty and small, and of course pink. Her one-bedroom bungalow had a small living area that a normal suite of furniture would have swamped. The pink suite fitted perfectly.

A Lesson in Living by Faith

From time to time we would receive requests to help someone put money on their electric meter or help them to heat their home with oil.

The building we run Kiltonga Christian Centre from was a former leisure centre. A place that was designed a good lot of years ago, it isn’t energy efficient in any way and cost the local council a fortune to run – its overheads were huge. As a consequence, the oil we fill our heating tanks with doesn’t last very long at all – especially in the winter.

When the request for help came to us we were at a stage where we didn’t have the money to fill our own oil tank at the Centre. However, as our Director said, we couldn’t afford to not help this individual- this would be another step of faith. We sent the oil down to the individual who had a young family and no way to heat their home. By the end of that same day, the money came in to the Centre to pay for the oil. 

God, you are amazing – a God of plenty.

Remember how important we are to God and how he can use each of us when we are obedient to Him

I suppose the work of the Storehouse really started with one small family - a mother, husband and child who had arrived in Northern Ireland from another country. She tried her best to look after her young child whilst her husband spent, drank, etc. all the money he earned. Many times she had to drink cold water as she couldn’t afford to turn on her kettle, she didn’t have the money for electricity. All she wanted was to be able to heat a little water so her daughter could get washed in warm water before she went to school.

We tried to help her with food, etc. One Sunday church service, we highlighted the needs within our community. A gentleman came to us after the service and said he would like to give a sum of money which we were to pass on to the lady who we said was having difficulty even finding the money to boil her kettle.

Later that week I met the lady for coffee. As we chatted, I said that I had a sum of money for her. She said that actually this week things were going okay with her and she didn’t need the money. I explained that it was for her and if she didn’t need it this week, she should save it for a day when she might. She reluctantly took the money.

I didn’t meet up with her again for another couple of weeks. When we next chatted, she told me how she had left me that last day to go and do some shopping for food. She had everything on the conveyor belt and when she went to pay for her goods the shop assistant told her her bank card wasn’t working – they tried it again. How embarrassing. Then she remembered the money we had given her. Do you know that it was exactly the amount she needed? She found out later her husband had run up overdrafts at the bank and had cancelled his cards.

God knows the end from the beginning.

The Earth is Filled With His Glory

Sorry, you are getting another post that is picture-heavy, fewer stories. We have just seen too much of God's indescribable creation the last few weeks in Ireland to not share. Maybe the stories will have to wait until we see you all again in person and we can sit down with a tall cold drink or a huge pot of coffee and chat the day or night away.

Dunluce Castle - okay, some of man's creation mixed in

View from Dunluce Castle

Giant's Causeway

View from Giant's Causeway

Rope Bridge

Port Rush Harbour

West Strand

 East Strand

The Dark Hedges

On the drive home from Port Rush

Road to Dundonald

Other side of the road!

For most of us we take for granted that we walk to our car, jump in, start it up, and then pull to the end of our driveway, turn left (or right as your case may be) and drive away. All on automatic. For the past few weeks I have not been able to do that. Too many times I have come up to an intersection, stopped and then looked left for oncoming traffic only to see taillights! Driving in the UK requires you to switch all your natural (for those of us left side of the car drivers) tendencies. This starts with needing to make sure you walk up to the correct door if you plan to drive. Always a strange feeling to walk up to the car door and then realize the steering wheel is on the other side!

What are the changes?

• Getting in on the other side of the car to drive
• The blinker is on the opposite side of the steering wheel (oops there go the wipers again!)
• Shifting the gears with the left hand

• Rear-view mirror is up and left
• Traffic comes from the right not left
• Traffic circles go the opposite way
• On dual carriageways (4 lane highway) stay to the left and pass on the right
• Watch for the curb on left corners

STAY LEFT! When I first started driving here our host, Campbell, gave me the advice: just remember always stay left. That has been good advice. After a few weeks I think I have begun to get the knack of driving here. I do catch myself every once in a while still taking a corner and being on the wrong side of the road but the times are getting less.

Unique things to Northern Ireland are the very narrow roads with no shoulder, and hedges along the roadways.

There are also some unique signs that we have never has seen before!

In English Please?

So we have to admit that moving to a country where they speak English has been a bit of a relief. Not nearly the same amount of brain energy has been expended on translating and figuring out how and what to say...or so we thot!! Now you may or may not have noticed that nowhere in our blog posts have we ever intentionally put down another culture or thought our own superior...at least that was our goal. Therefore, the following is in no way a slam on our dear dear Irish folk. In fact, we are having an absolute HOOT learning the different words you use for things and might very likely use them in our own vocab when we return to Canada! :)

Who knew there were so many different ways to say things in our very own English language?

Donaghadee

trolley = shopping cart
lorry = semi-truck
shop = store (retail)
store = storage room
white coffee = coffee with cream
bin = garbage can
boot = trunk of a car
bonnet = hood of a car
fringe = bangs (hair)
settee = couch, sofa
chips = french fries
crisps = chips
carriageway = highway
kitchen roll = paper towel
loo = bathroom, washroom
pot (of jam) = jar
jumper = long-sleeved sweater
take a dander = take a walk, stroll
barmy = whacky, crazy
washing up liquid = dish detergent
bun = cupcake, or other sweet small cake
bap = larger, non-sweet bun like a burger bun
biscuits = cookies
tray bake = squares, dainties

pants = underwear (Imagine the look I got when I kept saying that our kids have grown so much their pants are all too short!)

Kids playing Courtroom, Ulster Folk Museum

trousers = pants (Yup, now I say their trousers are too short!)
field = pasture
mobile = cell phone
minced beef = hamburger
tea or dinner = supper
supper = night snack
chipper/chippy/chip shop = restaurant (sometimes Take Out Only) specializing in All Things Fried: chips (french fries), onion rings, chicken strips/fingers, fish, etc.

Literally Kids in a Candy Store, at Ulster Folk Museum

wee = universal adjective; use-anywhere, not-necessarily-literal (doesn't always mean small) "It'll be just a wee minute while this wee girl gets you a wee coffee and some wee buns."

Huge chess game at Carrickfergus Castle

Amazing Opportunities

Not only are we amazed by the gorgeous sights of yet another country we are privileged to visit, but we are experiencing some unbelievable people-sights as well. We're not talkin' celebrity sightings...although I may get weak in the knees if I spot Bono across the street!

We are thoroughly enjoying getting to know the folks involved in Kiltonga Christian Centre and The Storehouse. The Storehouse is an inter-church initiative giving immediate help to those in need, regardless of their faith or if they have any at all. In Manitoba, we would call them a Food Bank. They work solely on donations and volunteers, two afternoons a week, making up packages of canned food and dry goods, to be delivered to those struggling to make ends meet.

However, sometimes food hampers would be delivered to a home that had no table or chairs to eat the food at, nor dishes to eat the food out of. Herein, enter some folks at Kiltonga Christian Centre. They are a church congregation that meets on Sunday mornings and evenings for what some of us may call traditional worship and spiritual feeding times. But, as some of them put it, there is more church going on during the week. One of their ministries is to run the area of The Storehouse/warehouse that handles donations of furniture, appliances, clothing and household items. They spend five or more days a week collecting donations of these items, sorting and testing, and then furnishing up to ten houses or flats a week for free. They describe it as "plugging gaps in the social welfare system".

Kiltonga congregation meets in a former leisure centre with much space to use for all kinds of other unique ministries. Just to name a few: they provide space and cater coffee breaks for conferences and meetings for health and charity organizations like the Diabetes Association, for example. They have Craft Day once a week, where people of all abilities can come and make cards, get their nails painted, or paint some reclaimed furniture for themselves or to sell for charity. There are also squash courts that can be rented and a ballet teacher that runs her studio classes out of the Centre. For that bit of traffic that comes through, there is a wee shop in the Centre that sells some of the gently-used wares (clothing, jewellery, dishes, small furnishings).

How are we helping? Emery and Braden spend most of their time at the Warehouse ~ all 70,000 square feet of it!

Emery has been testing and prepping washing machines, fridges and stoves. To give you an idea of the size of this operation, he has finished about 15 appliances and isn't half done, as every day more appliances are added to the pile.

Braden's favourite part is riding on the van with Campbell (our gracious host), helping load and unload, pick up and deliver.

The girls and I get to do something different almost every day. It is very rewarding packing grocery hampers at The Storehouse. It is like grocery shopping for someone else, where everything on the shelves is free! I get goosebumps watching my girls carefully pick out which soup or which shower gel this "Single Adult Female" might like in her package.

We, of course, LOVE Craft Day as well and have started a few painting projects. They won't fit into our suitcases to take home, but we hope they will bless someone else who may not have had the time or opportunity to make these reclaimed beauties.

Helping with coffee breaks is a pleasure (I'm even learning to run the espresso/milk frother machine <insert small squeal of delight here>!). Other days we have been spring cleaning at the Centre, and just helping out wherever we can.

When you look around, and have the time, it's easy to find ways to bless people, sometimes in small ways, sometimes in bigger ways. I remember Emery and I discussing this before we left home in October. We said then that this year might be more about us blessing the workers who are over-worked in their ministries, help them out to lessen their load, and give them an encouraging boost so they can continue their work long after we are gone. We are rather enjoying the backstage work, feeling we are getting our socks blessed off.

Welcome to Ireland ~ Guest Blogger Emery

Change can be difficult as you move from what is known to what is unknown. For us, the move from Spain to Ireland was something that had not been a part of our long range plan. But God, in his wisdom, directed us in this way, and so here we are:  in a new country, meeting new people, a new church, and a new opportunity.

The good byes were difficult but the warm welcome we received here in Ireland made our transition much easier. It is exciting to see what the church is doing here as they reach out to those that are in need and are marginalized. They help those that social services and other organizations are unable to help. And we are looking forward to being a small part of the help that makes this possible.

We have become seasoned travellers. All of us know how to manage our bags and find the right seats in the plane, train, or bus. This time we experienced a new mode of transportation as we took a coach from Dublin to Belfast.

Each country has its own beauty and Ireland is no different. The deep greens of all the hills and valleys with the mix of yellow and blue flowers was breath-taking. No pictures really capture these kinds of views, but here are our first few attempts.